Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER…
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Heir and Harlee, Happy Birthday to you!” The entire family sang to the twins on their fifth birthday.
When they arrived on the white sand beaches with nothing but privacy for their family, they were all captivated.
Everyone else flew by private jet, and the island came equipped with a boat captain, private chef, and complimentary massages.
The gentle ocean breeze was perfect for the day.
A table big enough to seat everyone was arranged on the beach, and the decorations for the twins surrounded them.
Each of them wanted their own theme, which their parents accommodated.
Airplanes and unicorns were displayed on the table cloths, there were balloons shaped like them, and each of them wore a little jumpsuit with an airbrush design of their names on back.
Harlee’s was pink, and Heir’s was blue. The trip had been nothing short of magical so far.
Seated at the head of the table, arm propped on his chair, Heavy toyed with his beard while taking in the tranquil atmosphere.
He had to do that sometimes to remind himself of what to be grateful for.
Seeing all his family together, alive and healthy, did something to his beat-up heart.
The last year hadn’t been perfect, but it brought them all together in more ways than one.
Giselle and Gem laughed together, cutting and plating birthday cake so they could serve everyone.
In no time, the little ones smashed theirs and ran to build sandcastles.
“I was a little hesitant about all that flying and coming to a private island, but… I’ll admit, this is nice,” Remi announced, twirling her glass of champagne with a pair of large Dior shades shielding her eyes from the sun.
Beside her, Maisie nursed her and Crew’s daughter, Caisie under a thin blanket and studied her as she drifted off.
She was four months old and the perfect combination of her parents with Crew’s bronze skin and Maisie’s heart shaped face and nose.
She took to motherhood effortlessly and was considering pushing out one more so her daughter would have a playmate.
Crew sipped his bourbon from a glass with a cigar burning in his other hand and watched them. He couldn’t get enough of it.
“I told Petal we gon’ find one of these caves so I can break her off.” Horace puffed on a joint and passed it to Viggo.
Beside him, Prischa sat with her leg draped over his lap, watching Pierre, Harlee, and Heir run barefoot along the soft sand with Solo roaring like a monster behind them.
It brought a smile to her face. Life had been good lately.
Viggo had proven to be able to commit and make it work with one woman, and he took pride in it.
Helping raise Pierre was also a highlight for him.
When Heavy told Prischa about Kina and Pierre, he expected her to crash out.
It wasn’t something he could continue to keep from her.
Instead, she took it on the chin after a night of getting drunk.
It wasn’t something she could change. Pierre was gone, and although it angered her, how could she hold a grudge against a dead man?
“Grandpa, pleaseeeee,” Henna pleaded, stuffing her face with fruit with Oz at her side.
The two still weren’t trying to claim each other on no exclusive shit, and his baby mamas gave them hell regularly, but he wasn’t coming off Henna and vice versa.
She’d met his kids, and they all adored her, but they were birth control for sure.
She wasn’t sure she even wanted any of her own, but she was content being a bonus mom if necessary.
“Half the people at this table wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me putting in that work,” Horace pointed out. “Let’s toast to that!” He grabbed his flute and raised it in the air.
“Giselle, you haven’t touched your champagne,” Lou noted, tipping her glass to her lips beside Toussaint and Milani.
Nobody knew what was going on with those two and didn’t bother asking.
She’d been helping out with the books and making appointments and answering phones at the shop, which meant they were seeing a lot of each other.
It was never implied that they were back together, but everyone peeped that they had grown closer recently.
Business was good all around. Heavy had made Sapien Auto a household name.
Between the shops and surplus stores, their brand was expanding into something that surpassed his dreams.
It gave him time to spend with his kids since Giselle was taking the furniture and interior game by storm.
She was booked so far out with consultations and projects that she was more than happy to take a little time to reset.
The two of them had remodeled all the shops, and she now had three large warehouses that distributed her furniture from the catalogues she produced.
An addition to their home was also in the works.
“I’ve been busy hosting, Lou, damn.” Giselle picked up her glass, and Heavy peered up at her. “I have to pee.” She rushed off toward the deck of the house, and he stood calmly and followed her.
Giselle moved like she was on fire, stopping at a nearby bush and pouring her champagne out.
Suddenly dizzy, she grabbed one of the beams of the railing to steady herself.
The vibrant floral print maxi dress hugged her middle and left her swollen breasts sitting pretty.
Sliding up behind her, Heavy encased her gently and folded his arms across her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” His warm breath brushed over her earlobe.
“Nothing. I’m just a little tired.” She sighed.
“You lying to me, princess?”
She stiffened in his embrace and faced him.
“I think I might be a little pregnant,” she revealed, eyes lowering to the ground.
“I already knew that.” He placed his finger under her chin and tipped her head up, so he could look into her eyes.
“How?” she fired at him with misting eyes.
“What you mean how?” He chuckled and rested his hand on her ass to pull her close.
“I’m in that shit all the time. You think I can’t tell the difference?
Ass getting fatter, titties looking like two mangos.
” He used his finger to caress her breasts and watched her nipples poke through the thin material of her dress.
“How come you didn’t say anything?”
“I thought I would let you tell me. You stopped drinking, and I assume you only puffing on the weed to keep your nausea at bay.”
“Oh, my God, I’m so sick all the time!” she whined, head falling against his chest. “What if it’s twins again!”
“Then we’ll love them as much as we love the other two.” Heavy embraced her. “I do have one request before you have my baby again, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Aye, let’s go!” he shouted toward the deck where everyone came running.
The twins lined up with Pierre, and Maisie held Caisie against her chest. Harlee and Heir opened their jumpsuits to reveal the shirts underneath, and Pierre unbuttoned his little beach shirt too.
Each child had a word scribbled on their chest to complete a question.
Will you marry me? Giselle’s head swung back toward Heavy with frantic eyes.
“You better answer these babies!” Petal yelled.
“Yes! Of course I will!” She jumped up and down in his embrace.
Heavy presented her with a white gold princess cut, split shank diamond engagement ring that sparkled from the sunlight shining down on them. Grabbing her hand, he slipped it on her finger, and she let a single tear drop past her cheek.
“I love you, princess.” Heavy swept her off the ground.
“I love you more, Huey.” Her lips lingered over his before their mouths fused in a passionate tongue kiss.
“Huey!” Harlee covered her mouth and giggled while the rest of the family cheered for the couple and raised their glasses.
“Aight, let’s get our hood asses on this yacht!” Viggo pulled from the blunt in his hand and finished his champagne.
The rest of the evening, nothing but the calm seas surrounded them.
With the mesmerizing sun setting in the distance, they partied for hours.
Standing on the deck, gripping the chrome railing, Giselle took in everything with a brand-new outlook.
Below, Gem danced in her bathing suit, with Solo behind her, drunk as hell with a blunt in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.
He caught a groove behind her and watched her ass move.
Giselle just shook her head. She knew he cared about her.
When it came to Gem, Solo didn’t behave like a typical twenty-three-year-old.
He stood on all ten behind her baby sister, and that was all she could ask for.
With no regrets, she smiled when the arms of her man slipped around her waist and pecked her supple skin.
Lifting her off the ground, Heavy perched her on the railing and stepped between her thighs.
He caressed them both with his rough hands, and his mouth lingered over hers, lips still cool from the champagne he’d just sipped.
“You happy, princess?” Heavy asked against her lips.
She draped her arms over his shoulders and nodded before smothering his mouth with hers.
“I didn’t think I could ever be this happy.
” She stroked the back of his neck and got lost in his gorgeous hazel eyes.
“Crazy to think one thunderstorm during one of the worst times of my life gave me everything I didn’t know I needed or was missing.
I dreaded coming back to Southwick, and it took so long for me to find my footing after everything.
I think someone once told me that peace was earned.
” She simpered, head angled to the side, carving his handsome face into her memory as the stars shined down on them.
The End